Legends of a Warrior Teen
by KnightJackson18
Summary: The World Breaking battle has begun. Percy Jackson like any 15 year old is confused and looking for something new. When he finds something that potentially effect the upcoming war, he is introduced to a new side of the world he never knew. With new friends ranging from psycho Nico to calm Jason, can he survive to finish puberty and get home to his mother?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Are you sure about this Percy."

"I'm sure mom. The skies are clear and the forest is as green as it's been all spring."

Sally Jackson sighed at her son's brash attitude. It seemed he was dead set on going to train even when she told him that rain would come pouring in. Even though he was almost six feet and still fifteen, he was always trying to get stronger and be a better fighter. "I've got to protect you mom. This world is too dangerous for a great person like you. It seems there is a person missing from the town every other week." He would tell her every time she said he should spend time doing something other than training. Sally, however, felt it had more to do with her son's complete lacking of social skills.

While he was nice and funny around certain people, he often acted rude and maliciously sarcastic to other kids. It didn't help that they weren't well liked by the town to start with.

Sally frowned at this thought. "Get some food before you go at least. It doesn't make any sense to train on an empty stomach."

Percy put on a light blue t-shirt and dark brown trousers then walked backwards to the table. "Anything makes perfect sense if you add nonsense to it mom." He smiled at her before turning around.

Picking up some toast with blue jam on it, Percy started to walk out before remembering his weights. He looked back at the tiny cottage he had personally helped build. It was slightly small but it housed them quite well. The kitchen was completely wooden and the biggest of the four rooms. With its small table that had four chairs in case they ever had company (which they almost never did) as well as a bear rug they bought for a cheap price, it had a homely feel. The small cabinet had a chill rune to keep their food fresh as well as seal out the bugs that were otherwise all over the house. Next to the kitchen was the living room that Percy slept in. Small, but with surprisingly comfortable furniture and a TV, it was where he set up his "Man Cave" as he called it. Aside from the bathroom, his mother's room was the smallest, consisting of a queen-sized bed and window where she set her plants.

That was the real reason he was leaving so early. He wanted to give the house to her today. Sally was always helping others even when they bad-mouthed her and never talked about others. Always kind and optimistic, she never complained when Percy's dirt-bag dad left her at 15 with a child and nowhere to live because her parents made her chose between them or Percy. She chose Percy, which still amazed him. Leaving her rich parents for a cottage shack and a child who was already a town pariah where they lived before he was 12. Percy never said she was particularly smart.

He was slowly making his way down to the forest. He enjoyed walking slow and taking his time. The grass was a bright green and the sky was always slightly cloudy, but clear enough that you could see the deep blue of the sky while the birds chirped through the sky, on their way back from the east now that winter was over. Percy couldn't blame them. Along with everything else, the smell of fresh air and grass was always an irresistible mix for him that brought peace. That is until he, as always, passed the inevitable village idiots.

_Let the insult ceremony begin. YYAAAAAAYYYY!_

"God, can't he just stay stuck in his house like his mom. I'm going to spend weeks getting all that ugly out my head."

"He looks like he just the robbed a hobo, got hit by lightning, and swam through a swamp to clean himself."

"What's up with his hair? Is he so poor he can't afford a knife to cut the some of that mop top off?"

Percy was tired of the insults. He wasn't his mother and couldn't let things go as easily. "Will you shut up and go back to your houses. Even if my hair is bad, it isn't because I had it up my ass like all of you."

"PERCY JACKSON!"

_CRAP_ was all Percy thought before he was confronted by no less than five incredibly angry parents. They gave him the look that almost everyone gave him. That of other contempt based on the belief that he was nothing but a burden to their lives, and a corrupter of their children. Percy put on a stoic face and braced for impact.

A woman with tan skin who would be beautiful if not for her wrinkles said, "What do you think you are doing yelling at our children?"

"Well, I guess I was hoping that if I shouted loud enough they would hear it. I didn't know if they got good reception if they were so far in their asses."

The looks on their faces were priceless. The trouble he would be in later though would probably cost him a lot though. Ms. Wrinkles looked ready to slap him before some old salt-and-pepper haired guy came up to my face.

"Don't talk to us like that. Just because those rules may apply to your no-class home doesn't mean that it applies to us."

"Tell your rotten apples to back off. We would save a lot of yelling if they did."

"Don't react with insults. If you hurt others every time they talk about you, do you really think you will get ahead?" Ms. Wrinkles asked Percy.

Even though in theory it was good advice, Percy couldn't help but retort with, "I'm sure your saggy wrinkly ass has had its fair share of insults, but for magnificent vain bastards like me," he said while gesturing to himself. "It is impossible to bear even the simplest of insults."

Ms. Wrinkles didn't wait three seconds before hitting Percy with a surprisingly powerful slap. "How dare you, you stupid bastard."

"How? Because I'm daring. And didn't you say not to react to insults with violence?"

Before she lunged at him again, Percy ran as fast he could. If he had looked back, he would have seen that everyone was busy holding Ms. W.

Percy was tired of holding back. He rationed it would be better to let the feelings out than hold them in. Those people always talked about him like he a dragon, so why didn't he start acting like one. He pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on the positive. So what he had a handful of friends? So what he was almost sixteen and never had a girlfriend? So what it was a good day when all he got were stares and avoidance. He had his mom and air, and that was enough. _Remember your current blessings of which all the world receives many _his mom would say_ not your past misfortunes of which we all have a few._

After walking a little more, he finally got to the forest. Their house was pretty close to it and it was the place where he was allowed to be himself entirely. He hooked his weights - two black wrist and leg bands - and started as he usually did by climbing the tall oak tree and hooking his legs on a branch before doing sit-ups. Before he got to 10 however he was hit with a rock and fell…all twenty feet to the ground below.

"Who the fuck di-" He didn't even have to finish. Standing over him in ankle length shorts and a reddish-brown disaster of a shirt was Clarisse La Rue.

She was the kind of girl who gave juvenile delinquents a bad name. He should know since he was friends with several of them. Pudgy, but with a lot of muscles, she had a constant scowl on her face which only seemed to let up when she was physically or emotionally hurting someone, especially Percy. She had made it a personal mission to humiliate Percy every chance she had. The fact she was stronger, older and a better fighter didn't hurt her.

As he got up, Clarisse grabbed him by his shirt and got in his face. "Hey Jackson. Can't you and your mom go away? Since she came along, your mom's been a burden here."

What he did next was, in retrospect, hands-down the worst decision of his life. Even then he knew it was a bad idea. But NOBODY talks trash about his mother. Lunging at her, Percy shot out his fist, but she sidestepped and flipped him over. Getting up with a roll he lunged at her again before diving and outstretched his hands to grab her legs when she moved. Having caught her off-balance, he got on top to punch her face, but it felt like punching a brick wall. She on the other hand had no problem punching him in the stomach before pushing him off her. She then grabbed his face and dragged him, kicking and screaming, to the edge of a ditch.

"Enjoy." She threw him in the ditch, but as he was getting up to try to fight again, the ground gave under him and the last thing he saw was Clarisse's smiling face.

* * *

As he woke up, the first thing Percy thought was, "I'm going to kill Clarisse." His second thought was, "If I'm not dead already."

It was pitch black and he wasn't sure what he should do. Move and possibly fall deeper, or stay and most likely die of thirst. He already felt his arm was broken, or at least fractured. Getting up rather ungracefully, he decided to start walking. His legs were amazingly fine, and he heard that when you break a bone, you may internally bleed, which apparently was worse than bleeding out. He never understood that, but now with his head swimming, he wondered if maybe his brain wasn't use to that much blood flow. Plenty of people had already assumed that.

He picked what he hoped was north and went forward. Although he was scared, tired, hurt and dizzy, he tried to remember what was waiting for him when he got home. His moms famous blue cookies and warm hugs. He learned when he was a kid how powerful love was. _There is no fear in love; but prefect love removes fear. _His mom would always whisper that when he was afraid and as he trudged forward he whispered that to himself. While walking soon felt the ground grow slippery and fell face first before rolling down the rapidly slanting floor. He wasn't feeling the love now. As he kept walking straight, or what he assumed was straight, he saw a whitish-blue light. Now he was sure he was dead, because the glow was otherworldly. The glow was brighter than anything he had seen but as he got closer, Percy saw that it wasn't just a light, it was a glowing sword.

It looked like a mix between a claymore and an arming sword. It had an iron hilt that had a gem in the pummel so blue it looked like the deep ocean and wing-like patterns connecting the hilt to the blade. The blade itself was enormous, at least 7 inches wide and 4 feet long and double-edged with green flame like patterns going up the blade. But what really got Percy's attention where the three stones in the middle. They were small, but it was obvious they were the source of the intense light as they radiated power. Before he knew what he was doing, Percy was grabbing the blade expecting it to weigh a ton, but it was surprisingly light.

As he was lifting it, he started to feel a tingle go through his body. He suddenly felt violently weak and fought the urge to vomit. He tried to drop the blade, but something in his body wouldn't release it. Just as he was about to pass out, he heard singing. It was melodic and almost made him forget the pain that the spreading through him. Almost. He didn't know what the voices were saying, but they seemed to be getting either closer or louder. His mom told him that there were creatures who lured in prey with beautiful music and he knew that if that was anything to go by, he was about to be eaten by the most vicious monster out there, but at that moment he didn't care. His last thoughts before blacking out were, "If I'm going to die alone and a virgin, at least it will be to a beautiful voice."

* * *

**Here dear viewers is the beginning of Percy's _new _mythological adventures. The problem is that I'm new to writing and I desperately need people to help me. So please review and suggestions are definitely cool. I specifically want to hear suggestions about the fight scenes. I'd rather hear them now and improve while the fights only lead to the plot before they become central to the plot.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"How long will this take? I feel like it's been five hundred years. Can't he decide if he'll die or live?"

"Don't talk like that T. Chiron doesn't think he'll die. I hope he's right. I'm tired of death."

"Jason... it wasn't your fault. You thought she was special. Remember that time she literally stuck a foot in the Air Spinsters butt. You thought she was divine before you even heard the prophecy and spent months getting her ready. Oh man, you took the training so seriously I thought she might die trying to stick a spear up **your** butt."

"I don't want to remember that. I'm serious Thalia, he found the blade. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"It means everything. I'm not denying that. But we still don't know if him living is needed. Honestly, I think we should just put him out of his misery. With what's to come would you want to live through it?"

* * *

As Percy came to, he had a sudden urge to eat. Remembering he put some toast in his pocket, he quickly dug to find what amounted to simply crumbs, both soggy and molded. It was then that he noticed a few things. For one he was no longer in the dark cave with the sword, but in a lighted room that had a bed, several chairs and a window to let him know that it was early morning. Another thing was that there was no door at all in the room. The last thing he noticed was there was a wristband on him. It was darkish blue almost to the point of violet and had ten small multi-colored gems spread through it. He tried to pull it off but it seemed adamant about staying on his wrist.

While he grappled with it, he heard noises coming. The problem was he didn't know where to look because they came from everywhere. All of a sudden the voices focused next to him and he turned to see two people in an argument and ignoring him completely.

"Just let me cut off the one hand, Chiron. We could save a lot of trouble and maybe even wake the kid up."

"Thalia. As I've said before…" The man trailed off after seeing Percy stare at them.

"Well it looks like our problem has woken himself up."

The girl looked more disappointed than joyful. "Dammit."

Percy tried to distract himself from their stares by noticing their appearance.

The girl looked about his age but was stunning. Decked out in tight black leather pants and a black t-shirt, she wore a silver studded bracelet and bangle on her left hand. She had a long, black leather belt that wrapped around her 4 times. In her right hand there was a rhinestone-covered silver knife. Her hair was shoulder-length and spiky black. But what contrasted with all of this was her electric blue eyes, which were currently sending daggers at him.

"You trying to die just when you came back from the dead." She said with surprising hostility for someone who had just met him.

"Thalia calm down, he's obviously shocked from seeing your face because it is so pretty." The man looked at him as if to say, _don't say anything unless you want to die_.

The Goth girl, Thalia apparently, went to an apathetic expression and left in sudden spark without so much as acknowledging Percy again.

"Sorry about Thalia," said the man. "She can be a little… abrasive."

Percy scoffed, having found his mojo again. "A wild lion whose food you just ate and whose kids you're wearing as shoes is abrasive. She was plain psychotic."

Chiron, as Percy remembered Thalia call him, laughed and Percy took this time to notice him as well. He was in a gray high-waist jacket with matching Oxford bags. He had thin brown hair and intense brown eyes. Unlike Thalia however, Chiron's eyes seemed more inviting, as if all your secrets could be kept with him.

"Please get up Perseus. I need to get you some food and I feel the physical exercise would do you good."

Percy cringed. "Two things: First, please don't ever use my full name. Percy is fine. Second, how do you even know who I am? And now that I think about it, how long have I been asleep, because I feel worse than when I was in the darkness."

Chiron didn't respond to any of the questions. He simply reached out and placed his hand on Percy's shoulder before chanting in a language that Percy didn't understand. The next thing he knew, he was outside and standing in between trees and a bridge over a large ledge that went into the water. Keeping his questions to himself because he figured Chiron would turn deaf again. Percy waited for Chiron to do something but after a gesture with his hands, Chiron made it clear Percy should go first. He made a step on the bridge but immediately a torrent of fire descended on him from the sky.

Percy had never before felt such fear and awe at the same time. He was about to run before he heard a whisper that seemed to block everything else out. _Don't be afraid. I'll protect you from now on._ He didn't know why, but Percy believed the voice and as if on some kind of instinct that he never had, Percy touched the blue wristband's whitish-blue stone. Before he knew what was happening, the wrist band expanded into the sword from before. Percy, however, didn't have time to think about that as the flames came down on him.

As Percy looked around however, he saw that he was completely fine. His sword was absorbing the fire and before Percy knew it, he was back on the bridge perfectly fine with a gigantic though impossibly light sword in his hands.

He looked at Chiron, too amazed to even be mad. "W-w-what…how…di-did I just do that?"

Chiron chuckled and walked up to him. As he looked at Perseus, he saw in his eyes a fire that matched the one they just saw. He had to fight with everyone to keep Percy alive. They had called him ordinary, and to all appearances, he was. Jet black hair, lean but undeveloped build, and a blank stare that made you wonder if he ever paid attention to anything. Up front he wasn't very impressive and when he first saw him, he had doubts as well. But if they looked deeper into those eyes like Chiron did when Percy woke, they would see a young man who had the power to wield the sword and champion the free people through what was to come. The only problem was to prove this to everyone else. This was a good first step and now that he had the sword to prove himself, it would hopefully become easier.

"Percy. Please do get a move on. I'm sure Thalia has sent word that you are up and the other residents will be sure to want to see you."

Percy was still in complete shock from the blade, but he wasn't complaining. Anything that made him fireproof was definitely a keeper. Trying to keep pace with Chiron was harder than he would like to admit, but after a few minutes of walking, they were on the other side of the bridge and out of the forest. They began to make their way before someone else came to them.

It was a girl not much older than Percy, but she was beautiful with black onyx eyes and brown wavy hair. She had a timeless face and had a bow around her waist. She regarded Percy before giving a curt nod and turning her attention to Chiron.

"Lord Chiron. The delegation is fully assembled and awaiting you. Would you like me to send a reply?"

"Tell them that we are on our way and will be there before they can shake a horse tell, which believe me, is incredibly hard." Percy laughed at this and was happy to see the girl laugh to.

The girl hurried off with Percy and Chiron not far behind.

When they got in sight of a building, Percy's jaw dropped. The place wasn't just a building. It was a village with thousands of houses and several mansions and villas towering over them. The streets and sidewalks were built out of what Percy believed to be granite but they were a lot more slick and smooth than anything he'd seen. Merchants were on the street selling various items from fruit all the way to weapons. One person propositioned Percy with a leaf-shaped knife before Percy held up his hard to miss glowing sword. That put the guy to shame. As they kept walking, Percy noticed that the sky was completely cloudless and he could see the White Mountains. What surprised him were how close they were. Not only because the air felt warm and not chilly like it should being this close, but also because Nya, his village, wasn't this close to the mountains. He could see the famous "Crack of Unnamed Tears" that his mom had told him about: A great battle that had led to so much loss on both sides that all the warriors set down their weapons and weep for their comrades so much that it eroded the side of the mountain to a crack. Like many things that reached Nya, it was considered a myth that the locals wouldn't concern themselves with. Percy felt he had officially turned the map upside-down.

_How long was I asleep? And where am I?_

"Welcome to Salem." Chiron said towards Percy as if reading his mind.

"Well," Percy said as they approached the biggest building in the town. "Thank you for rescuing me from the cave, but you seem to have important business so if you could give me a map to Nya so I can be out of your hair, that would be great."

"Sorry Percy. That sword you hold is powerful and we must discuss what course to take."

"You can have the sword. I just have to get back to my mother. She's probably out of her mind."

"Don't worry. We contacted Sally and told her of everything when we found you."

Percy was a little suspicious of that. He had been raised to hope for the best in everyone, but not to be a fool. He didn't know Chiron in the slightest, and while he came along with him because he saved his life, he couldn't risk something happening to his mother. She was basically all he had.

"Sorry Chiron. I really-"

"Perseus." Chiron said sternly though not unkindly. "I know you are confused and anxious, but you must trust me. Your mother is wonderful person, but there is a lot more to her than you would expect. She is strong and raised you to be a strong. And if you still aren't convinced then let me give you her favorite line: Where your treasure is, there your heart be also. She told me to tell you that because she felt you would be distrusting of me and because she wanted you to know, and I quote her, 'Even when you go through hard times, like I'm sure you will, just find someone to treasure and remember someone treasures you.'"

That more than anything convinced Percy that Chiron was genuine. He had not only given his mother respect, but quoted her favorite phrase word for word. And the way he said it, with raw sincerity and earnestness, was exactly how his mother would have. Chiron had just done something amazing. He had just gotten Percy Jackson's respect.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Percy asked while giving Chiron a scathing look. Chiron had insisted on taking the stairs up for exercise. Percy, who was still stiff in the joints and thinking of what Chiron's face would be like if fell, stopped in front of a door with Chiron. Chiron pushed through with a eager quickness.

"We're here." Chiron said to both Percy and the crowd that looked up at his abrupt introduction.

Percy immediately felt their stares on him and tried to not be afraid as he looked them all in the eye. He was glad he had learned to sheath his sword before coming in. He didn't need them staring at anything else.

On the far right of the table, was what Percy assumed was a satyr. With small horns and goat legs and nothing to cover him but a green shirt, he looked as timid as Percy felt. Percy didn't try to judge him though. He knew what that felt like.

On the goat boy's left, there was the girl from outside and a boy with black eyes that matched hers and scruffy hair that could possibly rival Percy's in unkemptness. Next to him sat Thalia who for once didn't seemed bored or murderous. He would almost mistake her for a normal girl If not for the aura around her that stood out from the dark background.

Next to her sat a boy who looked about Percy's age with golden blonde hair and a muscular build. He gave off an air of confidence and had a stoic face with electric blue eyes. It struck Percy for the first time that he was Thalia's brother. Finally next to him stood a man who looked much older than the rest. He was black with a large build that surpassed anyone else's in the room. Percy thought that he was mad with that perpetual frown, but when he saw Chiron, it quickly vanished.

"Chiron. Finally. Thanks for keeping us waiting."

"My pleasure." Chiron's voice soon turned serious. "Okay children. Let's get to business. The world is ending and there is a _very_ good chance that everyone in this room will be dead before the end of the year if we don't act now.

To Percy's surprise, known of them seemed quite concerned. They acted like they got news like this on a daily basis and it was something to focus on but not worry about. _It's going to rain. I'm hitting puberty. Roses are red. Violets are blue. The world is ending along with you._

Chiron continued to speak. "While I was fighting the necromancer, I forgot to set guards at BelleFata."

Percy had heard of that kingdom before. The World Power of the country Arda. It apparently had magnificent homes and the most technological advancement in all the country. Percy had always thought it was more a myth than anything based on how perfect traders described it when they came to Nya. Why it would need to be defended, Percy had no idea, especially if half the stuff he heard was true.

"However," Chiron said. "I sent messengers immediately to the princess and received word from her yesterday that guards have been set up. Barrier spells have been put up by their most powerful wizards and so far they have had any attacks. It appears the item is safe. The Maia seem to have given us a reprieve from the dragon's army. And on top of that, the necromancer was defeated and his essence has been banished back to whatever swamp he crawled from."

Everyone in the room was cheering at this news. Everyone, that is, except Percy. He couldn't follow any of what Chiron were saying.

He got up and raised his voice over the noise. "Hey. Congratulations and all on whatever you're celebrating, but I'm going to be frank. What am I doing here and what does this have to do with me?"

They all looked at him in astonishment. Finally, Thalia spoke up.

"What this has to do with **you** is that BelleFata is about all that stands between the free people and everything that goes bump in the night. The necromancer was just **one** agent of those things. One. And it took Chiron a whole lot barely beat him. He animated countless dead bodies into evil minions and war horses. He tried to send an army against them because the enemy knows they are the main suppliers to their allies in warring lands. Still, there were a lot of creatures that escaped and their mission to go destroy Belle was still on their mind."

Now Chiron spoke up. "And that, Percy, is where you come in. Another thing the princess mentioned is that all of a sudden, no creatures were attacking them. They changed course and headed towards the west, aka near your town. When we found you, I had a theory, but now that I've seen what I saw today, I'm certain of it. Percy is meant to lead the army of the free people to victory, and now that the evil creatures of Arda know that, they will stop at nothing to destroy him."

That made everyone in the room stare at Percy. He had an open mouth expression and seemed very unheroic.

"You sure you got the right guy Chiron?" The blonde guy next to Thalia said.

Percy nodded his head. "I agree the blonde guy. I'm from Nya, where our modo is: if it's important and relevant to the rest of the world, we don't want to hear it. I didn't think BelleFata was anything other than a myth until just now. I'm completely new to all this and don't know how to lead people."

Now the shaggy hair dark-eyed boy spoke up. "Plus, how do we know it's him. He found the sword, great. But that doesn't mean he's the intended sword's master."

"Perseus," Chiron said while making Percy cringe. "Is a fine young man who deserves your respect. I know you think that he is insignificant, but look at all the greatest heroes in history. Cadwiner the valiant defeated horde after horde of monsters. Laoch the brave started a family dynasty that protected his land from war for 900 years. Power or appearance is not important if there is no heart to the hero. And let me remind you all that many of you and your families were not "brave" or "worthy" by worldly standards, which is why you have all been chosen to help Perseus in any way he requires of you, for you were chosen for skills that could shame the "smartest" or the "strongest" and humble them.

"And you Percy must have more confidence. I assure you that you're a valuable piece of the powers are at work. The history of that sword is tragic, but it is also a symbol of hope for us and all the people of Arda. For whatever reason Arcuate, which is the sword's name, has bonded to you and made you the new star to shine. I know because I have given you the test of fire. Since you aren't ash falling into a stream, I will assume you're the swords master."

"I think you have the wrong person. I just want to go home and eat apples my mom colors blue and run and train and..." Percy let his voice trail off. _And what. Get yelled at every other day by villagers. Keep going through the daily patterns everyday until I snap and kill someone._

Percy had never liked his old life. The one good thing about it was his mother, but all this made him wonder what else was outside of his simple village. He already felt like something in him had changed. He felt a voice inside him call out to every bone in his body. It was calling for adventure. It was calling for change. He couldn't take the thought of going back to a normal life with nothing and no one but his mom to validate that he was special. He wanted that feeling of being exceptional, even if it was in the form of request to be the leader of something bigger and more important than anything he could imagine.

They saw him get up and start to speak. They expected a brave and rousing speech to give them courage, or the usual _I'm not worthy_ speech. What he actually said was:

"So do the war horses look cool, and if so do you think they can be tamed."

Everyone in the room, besides Chiron, had the same thought that only Thalia voiced, "We're doomed."

"No we aren't. All Percy needs is time and training and I'm sure you all will be impressed. We'll start later today. I'm sorry that I have to give all of this to you in a moment, but I assure you it's best that you be overwhelmed now and ready later than blissfully ignorant now and overwhelmed later. I'll send you to a room to get some food for you, then we can get you started on your training."

* * *

After a walk through the city, which was surprisingly more incredible up close, Percy and the dark haired boy, Nico, reached a brick building that was at least eight stories high and a wooden oak door than had glowing symbols over the frame. As Percy got closer, the symbols started to glow bright before opening with no push. Percy try to keep his amazement down before he peed on himself and Nico.

As they made their way into the marble plaza and up the stairs Percy stared to speak.

"So are you people going to give me super samurai powers?"

"I don't know," Nico said. "Apparently you're supposed to be a super warrior and lead us, so I figured you were already strong." He gave Percy a look that said he didn't believe Percy was any of these things.

To be honest, Percy didn't believe it either. He wanted to go home and protect his mother. If what they said was true, he needed to protect her from whatever. But that was also why he was going to stay. If these people could give him some secret training to protect his mom, he would be their champion. Plus, his mom would never forgive him if he turned his back on his duty. It made her and him think of his father too much.

As they walked up, to the seventh floor, they entered what had to be the biggest most grandest room in the world. It was enormous and seemed to take up the whole floor. The best part about it was that it had food spread all throughout it. Food that he never saw before was stacked on top of one another just waiting to be eaten. But what caught his attention was the mountain of blueberries that was on his right. He made a beeline straight for them and dug in with his hands, barely stopping to breathe.

He turned to Nico and said, "I think I found the answer to world peace in this room, and I call it blueberries."

Nico laughed and got some grapes and toast before sitting down with Percy at a nearby table. He took his time to study Percy. He was funny and kind but seemed a little…stupid. Nico didn't know if this guy had what it took, but he had pledged to Chiron to help Percy in any way he could.

"Nico, do you think your dad will help me."

Nico blinked. "What does my dad have to do with anything?"

"Well he _was_ the one who said I would be trained. I just assumed."

"Chiron isn't my father dumbass. He owns all of Salem, so any one who comes here knows him and defers to him. I'm a delegate from Carn."

"Oh. What's a delegate?"

Nico gave him a sideways look then said, "Anyway, Chiron will do his best to teach you. If you have determination, you'll succeed."

After that, they returned to eating. Nico was amazed that after an hour of eating, Percy was still wolfing down food. Soon, Jason, the blonde dude with a muscular build walked to them. Nico had been coming to Salem since he was a child, but he was always lonely. Yeah he had his mom and sister and even occasionally his dad, it was impossible to truly forget himself. _Never let anyone in. Never let anyone in. _That changed a little when Jason and his sister got here. Jason was cool and his sister was hot so he now had people other than his sister to waste time with. Still, he could never grow too attached. His curse saw to that.

Jason broke through his thoughts to talk to Percy. "Hey Chiron said to come get you for sword practice."

* * *

The training room was on the third floor and just at enormous as the dining hall. It had wooden beams across the ceiling and several sets of workout equipment. It had 2 rings in the center and most impressive of all, it had **tons** of weapons, from swords to maces to strange weapons with intricate designs on them. Percy had never seen anything so beautiful.

"I'm not worthy of such awesomeness." Percy said.

Nico and Jason laughed while getting swords down. Nico had a sword as black as a nightmare while Jason had a sword golden as the sun. The contrast had a daunting effect.

Before Percy knew what was going on, they dragged him to the middle of the room and held their swords in a striking stance. Percy, after getting over the shock touched the bead on his wristband like he did on the bridge. The red one. The sword appeared out of nowhere but if Nico and Jason were surprised they didn't show it. Their faces where concentrated on nothing but Percy. He wondered if they could see the doubt in his face. He had never held a sword and the blade being light didn't mean that he could use it.

First Jason came at him with deadly speed and made for his gut. On instinct, Percy dropped on his back and swept his leg out to knock Jason over. Before he could Jason leaped impossibly high and landed several feet away from where he was. While looking at him, Percy didn't notice Nico coming towards him until the hilt bashed against him. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt nearly as much as he thought it should and instead it made him swing his sword towards Nico. Another thing that confused Percy was how he was handling himself. He was using moves that he didn't even know he could do and even managed to get a swipe in. The real problem was that Nico was way, way better, and Jason came in every once-in-a-while to help when Nico grew tired. After what felt like forever, Jason shot his blade out to stop Percy's charge by putting the tip of his blade on Percy's winged handle. He rotated his sword counterclockwise to knock the sword out of his hand, and swept his legs out to knock Percy over. Resting the point on Percy's chest, Jason gave a smug smile. The match was over.

Getting up, Percy grunted. "I don't think that counts. Two-on-one isn't at all fair."

Nico chuckled. "Nobody likes a sore loser. You actually did a whole lot better than I thought you would. You moved well and had some good moves."

"Yeah. I-just-ate is a lot easier to use than I thought." Percy was about to compliment them both, but they suddenly look confused. "What's wrong?"

Nico looked at him sideways. "Two things: One, you probably meant to say Ar-q-eight instead of I-just-ate. Second, Arcuate is isn't Arcuate anymore."

Percy looked down confused and with a shock realized what Nico meant. What had once been a four foot long whitish-blue claymore was now a cutlass sword. A double edged two-and-a-half foot blade with a slight curve left and bright red shine to it and a metal hilt with a leather grip. Surprisingly, it had words on the blade at the top. _Supernova_ it read.

"What the hell?!" Percy said.

Jason walked up to him and started to reach for it. On instinct, Percy jerked it back. He didn't know why but he knew it shouldn't be touched. "Don't touch it. Come here."

He started to walk to a heavy bag at the back of the training room. Without a second thought, he swung his sword at it yelling, "Red Dwarf."

When the blade hit, instead of slicing through like it should, a small explosion blasted, sending Percy back three feet and the bag, or what was left of it, back ten.

Jason and Nico ran towards Percy and tried to lift him, but he stood on his own. Shocked, smoking, and smiling, Percy looked at _Supernova_ then back at his friends.

"That, my friends, was awesome sauce!"

* * *

**Thanks for all the reviews so far. Please tell me what you think and what you want to improve. And to answer a question: Yes, there will be many pairings later. At least two of which I plan to make tragic.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Sssooooo… One minute you're fighting. The next minute you're exploding things. Typical boys."

Nico looked at his sister Bianca trying, and failing, to conceal her giggles through sighing. He thought about how odd she could be. Stoic one moment then on the floor laughing her butt off. But that's what made Bianca so unique. So important to him.

"Yeah well. It wouldn't have happened if Mr. Showoff had just told us what it did."

Percy, who was being bandaged by the nurse and Chiron in the healing room, ignored the pain and turned his attention to the siblings. "I **told** you. I. Didn't. Know." Then, looking at everyone's faces, stared at the floor. "I mean…I did know, but I don't know how I knew. I wanted to be sure it did explode and I wasn't just guessing."

At this Chiron gave a small to Percy. "I'm glad to see that your development has already started."

"What do you mean Chiron?"

"I mean that the blade is starting to accept its new master. Tell me Percy, did you start to feel different when you first grabbed Aphelion?"

"Uhh…I didn't grab any amphibians. I don't even like toads because when I was 11 this girl Clarisse made me eat 2 live ones. I'll tell you now; that experience made me start feeling jumpy." Nico burst out laughing while Chiron had a look of abhorrence.

"No Percy not amphibian, A-feel-lee-on. It's Arcuate's default form."

"Yeah. I felt tingly and weird and tired. It was like I was crazy sick."

"That's what I assumed. You see, Arcuate is more than just a sword Percy. Haven't you felt a presence around you ever since you picked up the sword?"

"I feel a lot of things. Fifteen year old boys normally do. Although a voice will pop up once in a while to tell me what to do."

"That's what I meant. Percy, Arcuate isn't just a sword. It's a soul too. When it has a new master, it will slowly bond to them and give them its power. Although I didn't believe you would have the willpower to unlock a new form so soon. I'm impressed."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "How do you know so much about Arcuate Chiron?"

"When you've been around as long as I have, you learn many things. The point is, this is a good thing. Percy, try to rest for the day. I want you well and healthy for tomorrow's council. Bianca, call everyone. And remember to step back when Thalia is woken. I'd hate to have to come here again. No offense Ma'am."

Percy had almost forgotten about the nurse. With lavender eyes and brown skin that matched her cloak, she had a subtle calming effect that made Percy oddly at ease even as she examined a particular spot of skin that had taken the brunt of Percy's explosion.

* * *

"And then the blade just exploded. After that I went to Chiron and he told me to come here."

Percy was once again telling Charles the story of the exploding blade. Charles, as he soon learned, was quite interested with the mechanics behind weapons. 'It was just magic' didn't seem to cut it with him.

"There must have been some fission going on to create the explosion. It may also explain how you can change swords."

"I'm telling you, it's just magic. No nuclear hygienics or anything."

"I think you mean hydronics. But it doesn't matter because I still won't believe you until you prove it. Change it into some other sword. You should be able to right?"

"Percy will need time to recover his energy and gain additional strength before he is able to unlock new forms of the sword, Charles." Chiron said, effectively shocking both Charles and Percy into silence. They hadn't even heard his footsteps or seen him come to the door.

"You have got to show me that," said Percy. "I don't know if you understand this, but some of us get very tired of walking all the time."

Chiron chuckled then whispered something to Beckendorf, as he preferred to be called, making Charles get up to leave before Chiron took his place in the seat.

"Good morning Percy. Are you feeling well rested?"

"Definitely. I was getting tired of Beckendorf though. He kept asking me about the sword as if I knew anything about it."

"Yes you must forgive Beckendorf. He is very curious and I'm afraid there are not many mortals like Beckendorf. He has come to partake in and add another adventure to the House of Monadimos. The race of Kings from over the White Mountains have sent him as there champion to give us unimaginable aid."

"Wait. I don't want to get this wrong. Did you just say Mon-a-di-mas?"

"I am glad that you understood that Percy but I hope it is not all you got out of what I just told you. Beckendorf is very proud of his family history. They have been the best rangers and warriors this side of the North Mountain has and we need their aid."

"Cool. You think they'll want recruits once I'm done with this?"

"Well, we'll focus on one adventure for now. You'll learn the dangers about this world soon enough. The council is assembled and we are waiting for you to come. Do you feel ready yet, or should we put it off another day?"

"I feel okay. It'll take more than that to keep a Jackson down." Percy got up and began to move out the door.

Chiron looked at Percy and once more smiled before saying, "I know."

* * *

The meeting room was just as Percy had remembered it. A high ceiling room with several dazzling black columns to keep the ceiling's majestic paintings high. The marble floor was humbled by the Yue wood round table that held the other delegates from before. The only thing different was that there was a great fire in the middle of them all that added a creepy glow to the room.

"That is the Fire of Aden Hall. It will always be used to ward against any dark presence that may attack us while we have council of the utmost importance."

"Tell me again why we are discussing things of such 'importance' with a council of teenagers."

"For reasons that I can never comprehend." Chiron said with exasperation.

The others were in their same seats and murmuring amongst themselves until Jason saw Chiron and spoke.

"Good to see you Chiron. Sis thought that you were, and I quote, 'taking out the trash' and bet me thirty jewels that Percy would come back with no wristband or right hand. Pay up Thals."

Percy looked at Thalia, who was staring at him in anger.

"Remind me. Why do you hate me so much?"

"As of now, because you cost me thirty jewels."

"Thalia," said Chiron. "Please do reframe from placing bets on your new comrade."

A collective "What!" rang through the room.

"Yes. I had thought that training would be the best bet for Percy. Now I see that it is better to give him experience to quicken his powers and we will need extra power. I admit I wasn't completely forthcoming with the news I received from BelleFata. My cousins have sent word by pidgin that the forces of the Great Enemy are not all after Perseus. Our opponent is wise and sees that neither Perseus nor Belle is the sole target. They have seen that to destroy the small kingdoms allied with us is the key."

Bianca sat up. "Why? It's Belle that is sending supplies to them. Wouldn't they want to destroy the Kingdom?"

"Yes and no. It's the basics to almost any strategy, whether you attack a world power or a single individual. Destroy the small forces that lead the way for the big forces, and the big forces will fall."

Now Nico spoke. "I still don't understand."

"Say for example you have a giant amongst his comrades. The opponents will be so busy fighting the giant that they will be caught off guard by the smaller comrades and wiped out before the sling ever hits the giant's head. But if the group sends their most agile members to distract the giant, they can take out the otherwise defenseless group then overwhelm the giant."

Jason looked at Chiron suspiciously. "What does this mean for us Chiron?"

"Well. With the monsters after the villages, I feel it would be best for both Percy and the small lands if Percy learned to fight the monsters on the road to BelleFata, which I spent last night routing out. Obviously I will give Percy more training before he leaves, but it won't be what I originally intended. That is why I beseech all of you to give Percy your aid in his journey. He will be the overwhelmed giant without your help."

For the first time, Grover got up to speak. "I'll do it. I have to protect my village. It is on the way to Belle so I will gladly help out."

That genuinely shocked everyone in the room, even Chiron. Still, Percy was impressed. He didn't expect anyone to volunteer. **He** didn't want to go, but looking at Grover's determined eyes, he knew he would.

So at last Percy went over and clasped Grover on the shoulder, putting on a smile that he hoped said _I'm glad to have you_ rather than _I'm probably going to die without ever having my first kiss._

Then, unexpectantly, Thalia got up. "I don't like you, but I guess you two aren't cowards like I thought so I'm in."

Immediately Nico stood. "I'll come too."

Next Bianca said, "I can't leave my brother."

"And I my sister." Jason said.

Finally, Beckendorf stood up. "I was in from the beginning. Plus I have to see how that sword works."

Then Thalia turned to me. "Yeah, how does it work?"

Percy looked at his wristwatch. "I just touch a gem and the sword pops up. Here let me show you." He pushed the same bright red gem from before and immediately _Supernova_ popped up with its shining essence taking over the room.

Grover looked at it in awe. "That looks cool."

Percy looked at him in slight confusion. "Yeah but it didn't turn red right away. Last time it took a little while before it transformed into this."

"That," said Chiron. "Is because the sword needed energy. As I've said before your sword has a soul to it that is slowly attaching to yours. The stronger you get, the more your spirit will feed Arcuate's spirit, and in return the more swords you will be able to create and the more power Arcuate will give you. That is why we will get started on your training immediately and-"

Immediately the flame in the hall went out, making only _Supernova_'s glow illuminate the room. Quick as a whip, Chiron and the others drew their swords and other weapons. Beckendorf in particular had a shield and a flaming sword on his right hand, and three daggers small enough to be used as claws for his left hand. Thalia had a spear that hummed with blue energy. Jason had a sword and spear that had yellow energy but was no less intimidating. Nico was weaponless but didn't appear nervous. Bianca on the other hand had a bow and quiver of arrows around her. Even Grover had some pipes, but what they did, Percy didn't know.

They all rushed out of the room down to floor and stopped. In the middle of the foyer were roosters. Well they looked more like horses in the front, but they had the backs of roosters and chicken wings. Percy was about to laugh at that but Chiron and Thalia sprang into action. They went and obliterated the front row of roosters before the other things moved with blinding speed towards them. Percy changed his sword back into Aphelion and tried to attack. To his amazement he could keep up with the creatures. They ran up the walls to drop on him but he jumped back and slammed his sword down on one before spinning to rotate his sword at the second bird's neck.

He ran to another group and looked at his friends. Jason was cutting and dodging so fast that even the birds had trouble keeping up. He held out his spear and the next moment, it was a battle axe as big as Percy's sword. Jason didn't look at all tired as he ran and spun around destroying the creatures. Percy was so distracted that he didn't even notice that a new bird had come to hack him until the very last moment. Then, with speed that even he didn't know he had, Percy jumped up several feet to the top of the staircase.

_Whoa, since when could I do that?_

_I will always protect you Perseus. Take up the sword against your enemies. Show them your power._

Percy didn't know if what happened next was him or the voice at work, but he held up his sword and jumped down with incredible speed. A fall like that should have broken bones, but he was perfectly fine as he battled the creatures. Slashing, stabbing, rolling, ducking, punching, and laughing through it all. He was an indestructible machine that burst through the foyer to outside, leaving destruction behind him.

Outside was complete chaos as more roosters ran through Salem destroying the buildings and causing panic. Through it all, Percy could see Bianca on a roof, plucking off monster after monster with perfect aim despite their speed. Beckendorf and Nico were moving like demons. Whereas Beckendorf was using his claws and sword as monster-cleaner, Nico was barehanded. Well, not so much bare-handed as using powers that enveloped him in purple flames. He was kicking and slamming the monsters with such ferocity that Percy almost felt sorry the birds. Then one tried to take his head off. Big mistake.

Now Percy was at full alert again and heading towards Grover, who was holding up very well, to Percy's amazement. He was using his reed pipes to entangle several birds that were galloping towards some children. Percy instantly felt rage towards these creatures. With an increased speed, he cut off one the creatures that broke free and flipped over his head before landing on his back.

"You want to mess with this place," Percy roared. "Then you better come at me first."

Percy didn't know where all this power was coming from, but before he knew it, he had the bird-horse thing under his control and was charging towards the center of the town, where the creatures were attacking in masses. He charged through destroying some of the birds before galloping away into the woods, succeeding in his plan to lead the horses away, but only just realizing that he had hundreds of angry bird-horses chasing him. The horse was incredibly faster than the others, even with Percy on him.

_My head is six cans short of a six-pack_ Percy thought.

After several minutes of running on his new pet, Percy, after deciding that they would chase him everywhere but not willing to lead them back to Salem, jumped off and changed Arcuate into _Supernova_ form.

Taking the sword in his hand, he prepared for what was about to happen. _Sorry Mom. I hope you know I died trying to help._

When the herd of roosters came he jumped as high as he could and got one last look at the sun. On his descent he brought his sword down into the middle of the monsters shouting as loud as he could, "Red Supergiant!"

A blast ripped through the whole area and then Percy blacked out.

* * *

_As Percy woke up, he found he was just fine. Not a single cut or scar was on him. He also noticed that he was in an open field. Nothing but vast greens surrounded him. Vast greens and two great armies on either side. On his left, an army of black hooded figure with purple swords on them. On the right side of the field an army in Navy blue with shining ebony helmets on them and golden swords and bows stood._

_As he watched them, two figures, one from each army, came. They sat several feet in front of Percy and he studied him._

_The one had on dark armor and a cracked mask. He had a saw-sword as black as a twilight. He had glowing red eyes and an aura of evil that terrified Percy. The other man had a much more open face. He had a goofy grin and confident look that let you know the other guy didn't bother him in the least. He was decked out in green armor and had a bronze sword that reflected the light of his eyes._

_Red-eyes sneered at the golden-eyed warrior. "So Markus. I see you haven't let a proper defeat show you your place. You still stand here with your ignorant impudence."_

_Markus looked at the red-eyed guy with full seriousness. "I never did what impudence means. But your stupid and we'll beat you. I aint got nothing against leaders, but you all have problems and need a proper whuppin. So don't think us aint comin for you Algaroth."_

_This guy's a complete idiot, Percy thought. Still he seemed like someone who Percy would like._

_Suddenly, a beautiful woman in armor came from Algoroth's side. She had dark hair and ivory white skin with intelligent blue eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous and everything about her screamed "want me." Percy was about to subtly shift positions so no one saw the awkwardness below the belt, but then remember he was invisible and instead took a seat behind the woman's very shapely butt._

_He didn't focus on much of what they were saying, but his attention was caught when he heard Markus say, "You can't have the green-eyed boy Algoroth. He's made his decision clear. He don't want to have nothing to do with her." He said pointing at the black-haired beauty._

_She looked about as outraged as Percy felt. She was the kind of woman people go to war to get not leave. Why would anyone want to turn her down?_

_Algoroth had no emotion, but his red-eyes narrowed when he said, "So be it. We'll see you on the battle field worthy foe."_

_At that he got up and took the girl with him, coming straight towards Percy. He tried to move out of the way but something stopped him. As he looked up, he saw Algoroth looking at him._

"_And I'll see you sooner than you hope."_

* * *

Percy woke to incredible pain. His whole body ached and he was in sheer agony. Before he could scream out, a hand clasped over his mouth, silencing him.

"Shhhhh, do you want us to die."

Staring at him with a mix of anger and grudging respect, stood Thalia Grace in green camouflage with her silver rhinestone knife. "It's bad enough _I_ have to guard the death seeker. At least leave if you want to commit suicide again."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you straight up went after every Hippalectryon."

"Hippo what?

"Ech-tree-on. There horse-roosters, duh."

"Yeah, because that's something that everyone knows."

"It's something you better know soon. Instead of trying to pulling a kamikaze with that big-ass explosion, you would have known that they can be driven away by throwing eggs at them. We were doing fine until you drove them away."

"Sorry I didn't want you guys to die. I'll know better next time." Percy said with bitter sarcasm.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. I just said it was foolish and unnecessary."

"It amounts to the same thing with me. So where are we anyway?"

"Outside of Melira province. We dragged you here after we got the rest of the Hippalectryon to leave. Well, everyone except this one. It seems to like you."

The rooster Percy rid was a little bit away, eating sugar cubes and chicken-feed. Weird.

"So what now?"

"Now? Now we wait to see if they'll let you in for healing, although I got to say, you're healing really fast. We didn't even think you would live after all of that."

Suddenly Bianca came and whispered something to Thalia. Then she turned to Percy. "They're letting you in. After we told them what you did, they gladly agreed to heal you."

Percy was instantly relieved, the pain was starting to make him tired again. With a nod to Bianca and Thalia, he went back to sleep.

* * *

**I'm real happy now. The adventure is finally about to get crazy. Like I said before, review if you want to give advice or have a problem or just want to say what you think about the story. I have outlines for the next two chapters but if you have want to make suggestions i'd be glad to here them.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As Thalia sat at the front of the tent in Melira Province, she thought of this journey she had agreed to. Looking back on it she wasn't quite sure why she had done it. She had a little brother to protect, she couldn't bring him on dangerous quests when so much had happened to him. She didn't need another reason to screw him up. When their mother died, Thalia had decided long ago that she would be strong and protect Jason. She would shield him from the people who had destroyed their lives and bear the "Grace Burden" alone. Now here she was, by herself thinking, which she never liked to do. She had always been a woman of action. Being cautious was what she had left behind with her humanity.

Deciding that enough was enough, she decided to enter the tent. For two days, sleeping beauty had been in this tent sleeping while the rest of them had to gather ingredients for the doctors. It bothered her at first that the sword had chosen such a weak looking guy. He was tall and muscular, but also kind of lanky. He also always had a spaced out look that said he didn't understand anything above two syllables.

Still, he was a lot braver than she had thought. He was also starting to open his eyes.

_Well it's about time_

"Good afternoon sleepyhead. You feel better?"

Percy sat up and looked at her. "What are you talking about 'afternoon'? I thought I was only asleep for a few minutes."

Thalia almost laughed at this. "You wish. It's been two days. The doctors have been making us get a bunch of herbs from the forest to treat you."

"Oh" was all he said, infuriating Thalia.

"'Oh,' is that really all you can say. We've been spending all this time worried about you and that's it?"

"There's a ton of things that I want to ask you. But my mom said that when your brain feels overwhelmed, just start with the small stuff first and work your way up."

_Dealing with a son like you,_ Thalia thought_, your mom's bound to say something like that._

"Then let me start from the beginning. After you exploded yourself, we found you and your little pet barely alive and getting worst. We decided not to take you back to Salem because more monsters would just attack so we brought you here. Now, repeat after me: _Thank you for saving my sorry butt._"

"Thanks," was all he said before getting up and looking at her. "Got any food?"

As much as she knew she should be upset, she wasn't. Having an appetite after just waking up was something she respected.

She got out some berries and gave them to Percy. "You know, there's a story about the berries we're eating. I heard it from the locals while me and Bianca were hunting."

"What is it?"

"Long ago. A man coming home from war sat here famished. His men were scared because they didn't know this area, but the man said 'Don't be scared. We are strong warriors and are great in numbers.' So they went looking for food, but not being familiar with any of the fruit, didn't know what was safe."

"Once," Percy said. "I ate poisonous mushrooms and had food poisoning."

"Was it bad?"

"Not bad enough that I couldn't resist eating it three more times."

Thalia fell to the floor laughing. "Three? Were they really that good?"

Percy started blushing. "Hey we all have needs."

"Thank goodness we're not all as dumb as you. But that actually brings me back to the story. One night, the leader is able to see bright lights from far away. In a small part of the forest, fairies were having an amazing feast. The food was magnificent and there was a great want stirred up in him. When the man came upon them, they fled with a warning: 'Do not follow.' But the man was proud because he had attained victory in the war. So gathering his hungry men, he went after the fairies. Each night for the next four nights they followed, and each night they gave the warning: 'Do not follow.' Finally the men came upon the fairies who, tired of running but cunningly dangerous in mind, said: 'You have proven your tenaciousness in our test. Come and eat.' When the men came the fairies gave a screech that woke the whole forest, including the giants nearby, and then vanished. The giants attacked and slaughtered all the men except the leader and his second-in-command. After escaping, they watched the giants eat their men. Under grief and shame the leader asked the Maia to bring destruction upon the land. The Maia, then asked for permission from their leader, who was known as 'The Wisest and the Transcended,' to come upon the cannibal giants and destroy them with the land. They then made these berries grow as a promise to the two men that they would be protected as long as they remembered the name of 'The Wisest' saying, 'The name of he who is greater than all is a strong tower; The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.'"

Percy whistled. "That was some story. Complex as hell. Now where's the damn food?"

Thalia laughed and looked at Percy. She was starting to come around to him. As she started getting up to go eat she turned around and held her breathe in. Running in with a black pin stripped suit, black trousers and shoes, he looked like an angel of death. Sexy, cold and impossible to resist. Thalia's heart soon caught in her chest, but she forced the feeling down. _After everything I've been through, I won't go ga-ga over some guy._ But it was hard, especially when he had an expression like that, as if his entire world had been devastated.

She got up and looked to see what was wrong. Before she could speak, Nico said, "Bianca's went missing, we have to find her."

* * *

Thalia wasn't happy to be walking through the forest. Walking with Nico set her on edge. With his protective younger brother thing going on, he was much more serious and silent. He was walking straight without making conversation, though she wished he would. He was crazy and funny when he wanted to be, and it was that craziness that made him all the more attractive to her even without his muscles and good looks.

"So are you going to say something or will I have to slap your face a few times to get your attention?"

He looked at her as if only just noticing that she was there. "No. You don't have to do any slapping. But if you want to shake your butt a few times, that would distract me from anything." He then started to do a butt shaking gesture.

She slapped him on the back of the head, but not hard. _This_ was the Nico she liked. They walked for a few minutes through an open field talking, maintaining the seriousness of the competition but cracking jokes at each other. She thought it was sweet how much he loved his sister. It reminded her of her promise to protect her brother. Then, all of a sudden, the smile left his face and was replaced by the grim alertness that let her know to pull out her spear and get ready.

Suddenly a creature came out of nowhere. It had a human body, pure muscles, but its head was that of a lion. What really caught her attention was its hands, or the lack thereof. Where there should have been human hands were just wolf heads. Glowing white eyes that seemed to go right through Thalia and thick, large teeth in a foaming mouth. Thalia would have been stuck on his appearance if not for Nico charging at it.

As Nico ran, the werewolf (why not) shot its arm out and the wolf tried to bite Nico's head off. But he was too fast and jumped on the beast's arm, ran up, and gave it a vicious kick. That knocked the beast back a few feet and Thalia almost thought it was done. Nico was their best physical fighter. "I use the power of earth with my attacks," he had said once when she saw him punch clean through a metal scrap piece for practice. However, she saw that the werewolf was at best, just stunned. Getting out her spear, she blast an arc of lighting at muzzle-hands before it started charging at Nico. Thinking that was a sure kill, she was speechless when she saw that that too was useless. He, or she thought it was a he, slowly turned his head towards her - red eyes glowing.

She ran towards Nico and slapped his shoulder. "Tag," she said before pushing him towards the werewolf and running back into the forest.

* * *

As Percy and Grover walked through the woods, Percy couldn't help but feel daunted. The forest was a dark green and the further they went, the thicker it got. It was becoming much harder to see the sun and every once in a while Grover would climb up the trees to make sure the sun wasn't setting.

They all agreed on two things: to go in pairs of two and to be back before the sun set completely and they couldn't see the way back.

"I hope Bianca's okay," Grover said.

"Of course she is. Remember, Chiron said that we were chosen because we had talents others didn't. She'll be fine."

Percy said that, but he wasn't completely sure. Trying to keep his optimism up was hard when everything was going wrong. The sun was setting too quickly for Percy and if they didn't find Bianca soon, she might be gone forever when they search in the mourning. Deciding it would be better if they just walked, he didn't say anything for an hour. Then before he knew it, a terrible smell came upon him. Covering his nose he turned to Grover.

"I thought you were a vegetarian."

"I'm a vegan, and that's not me."

_It is us. _Said a vicious sounding voice.

They both looked up and saw something appear behind the trees. Before they knew it, four giant swamp covered creatures came up. They had terrible smells and were covered in moss, leaves and mud. But what kept Percy and Grover from running was that out of the four, the one on the far left had a face sticking out of it. Bianca's face.

Percy's fear was erased with anger. "If you did anything to her-"

_We have already absorbed her. Soon her essence will be used with the others to revive these swamp lands._

Without thinking, Percy pulled out Arcuate and was about to change it to_ Supernova_ when he thought of something. If he exploded the creatures, he would probably hurt Bianca. So he stuck with Aphelion and went to attack the creature holding Bianca. The other three cut him off but he jumped over them and cut through the neck of Bianca's captor. He hoped that would end it, but he saw that a new head was starting to grow from back. He then charged to cut the thing's legs and arms off, hoping that would give him time to cut Bianca out. Then out of nowhere, he felt a kick plow into him sending him flying no less than thirty feet. Percy was glad that none of them moved quickly, but then he saw why. Grover's music was slowing them, Percy was sure of it.

"Thanks G-Man."

Grover nodded and kept playing. Not wanting to waste this blessing, he charged at Bianca's monster one more time. Immediately he ducked and slid through all the creatures' legs. Then, getting up he cut the monster's legs off and pushed it on its back. Getting on top he quickly slashed thorough its chest, hoping that he didn't accidently cut through a body part. He saw a hand come towards him and cut it off. The problem was that they had all ganged up on him and every time he cut off one arm or head, he had to deal with two more. Eventually, he was grabbed by a vice grip hand and held in the air. He then felt his hand burn and saw that there was acid burning his hand trying to make him let go of the sword. He soon felt his life force fade as the pain increased. He turned to see if Grover got away, but found him passed out with a creature moving towards him. Just when he thought he was about to die, the monster holding him caught on fire. It dropped him and began running around, crashing into another creature that caught fire just as quickly.

Percy wiped the acid on his hand off before turning to see what was going on. He then saw a smiling Beckendorf and Jason looking at them. Beckendorf had been busy. He built a wooden ballista catapult that had rubber covering the pulley and an aiming system. He seemed to be putting scrap wood on it. Then Jason put his hands on the wood and used static shock to light it. Beckendorf aimed it at the third creatures head and shot it with incredible speed. The fiery scrap landed on the third monsters chest and exploded in a torrent of flames.

Then Percy remembered Bianca and turned to the last giant, which was running away and sinking into the swamp. Percy with increased speed, covered the twenty foot gap in three seconds. He then grabbed a vine that seemed like a main root throughout the body. _I don't know where this physical power is coming from, but I love it_, Percy thought. He yanked with all his might and pulled the monster out and started hacking at the beast until it was nothing but pieces of weeds and plants, and an unconscious Bianca.

* * *

"I can't believe you ran away," Nico said, amazingly calm considering a man-lion-wolf was charging at them.

Thalia shrugged, "I thought you could handle it. You're always going on about how much of a manly man you are."

"Yeah, well, I'm not omnipotent. I can't do everything."

"Is that a four syllable word? And humility? Your full of surprises aren't you."

Nico rolled his eyes but kept running. Then Thalia had an idea. "Hey. Why don't you use your fire? Maybe that would work."

Nico got a grim look on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea. I only used that because of the special circumstances."

"What do _you_ consider as a special circumstance?"

"Innocent, defenseless people being murdered. This isn't that. Worse comes to worse, I stay and fight that thing to the death while you escape."

Thalia was shocked. Did he really think she would let him die? Okay so she may have left on his own, but she knew he wouldn't be dumb enough to fight that thing and would follow him. Men couldn't help but run after her. But now…

"I'm not leaving you idiot. We're in this together remember." All of a sudden she stopped and turned around. It was obvious they wouldn't escape the werewolf. She decided if she was going to go down, it would be with a comrade/crush and a monster with serious mad-lion disease. Or mad-wolf disease. Take your pick.

She blasted another arc of lightning at the monster. It didn't seem to stop him, but with the smoke brought by the explosion, she used her powers to blow the smoke around the monster, hopefully confusing its sight and smell. She then charged and grabbed the thing by its arm flipping it to the ground and tried to sink her spear into the things eyes and mouth, but the smoke was confusing her too, and the monster's constant moving made it near impossible to attack.

Before she knew what was happening, a wolf hand sank its teeth into her side. Being in its grip, Thalia was lifted up and then thrown several feet away into a tree. Bleeding and quickly losing consciousness, she heard Nico give a "Noooo!" before charging into the monster with his purple fire ignited. He slammed into the beast and began beating it with extreme fury. After a while, Thalia saw that the monster had already been defeated. The moment Nico's fire touched it, the werewolf burst into fire and started running wild through the forest before crumpling to the ground and burning into ash. Soon she turned to Nico to give him a congratulations but saw that he too had fallen unconscious.

* * *

As Percy, Grover, Jason, and Beckendorf carried Bianca back to province, Percy thought of how bad that situation could have gone. He was glad that they were able to get Bianca, but he was also angry. Angry that all the effort he put into rescuing Bianca hadn't meant anything. He wondered what could have happened if he had a new sword form. He needed to get stronger. If Jason and Beckendorf hadn't have come when they did, it would have been up to him and he couldn't let everyone down. They were leaving their families behind and putting their life on the line for someone they met not even a week ago, and all he had done is get hurt or pass out.

When they dropped Bianca off at the tent he talked to the nurse that operated the tent. She was a surprisingly young girl, a year or two younger than Percy with black hair and intense brown eyes that reminded him of Chiron and made him rethink his conclusion that she was two inexperienced to be running a nursing tent.

"Excuse me Ms…"

"Katie. Just call me Katie Gardner."

"Okay Katie. I just wanted to know if it was okay to go train, now that my wounds have healed."

Katie took a look at his scarred hand. From all her experience, she could see that the wound would heal after a few hours, but it would need rest. She looked at the dark-haired boy and was about to tell him that, but then stopped. She had a hard time saying no to attractive guys and Percy was definitely attractive. His chiseled jaw and green eyes had a look to them that Katie couldn't resist, so she slowly nodded her head and turned back to the unconscious girl they brought in when she heard a noise from the bush.

Coming outside, she saw a bunch of assistants head to two people. One of them, the brother of the girl she was treating, was passed out and on the shoulder of the scary black hair girl. When Katie first saw Thalia, she wished she could look as good in black as her. Now though, with a bite wound on her side bleeding profusely and her skin a deathly pale, Katie didn't envy Thalia. After some assistants helped bring the two in to the tent, she got to work. Herbs were her expertise and she was able to cure many wounds with them.

After working for a few hours, she collapsed in her seat, tired but feeling accomplished in having healed them.

Soon, the blonde brother of Thalia came in. Handsome and tall, she was starting to grow tired of all these guys distracting her from her work.

"Is my sister okay? Will she get better?"

"She's fine. They're all fine. Give them a few hours and they'll be up and running. Well maybe not running, but she should definitely feel better."

He got a relieved look on his face, then asked her something unexpected. "Hey, I know this is going sound crazy but stick with me. How would you like to come with us?"

Katie immediately got out of her seat. "What?"

"Please. You saw how much of a mess we are. We need a healer and **everyone** tells me that you're the best medic here. We'll need you to help when we get our asses kicked."

That was exactly why she didn't want to come with them. She was needed too much here and it would be too dangerous. She could fight the average mook every once in a while but besides that, she was pretty much helpless.

"I give you my word that we would fight our hardest to protect you. As you can see, we don't leave others behind."

She did see it. She saw it in the eyes of everyone when they came carrying an unconscious Percy, heavily burnt and near death, to Melira. She saw it in how quickly they were willing to move out to rescue Bianca, even the scared satyr. She heard it in the angry protest from them all when she went to work and told them that none could enter. But still, she couldn't leave. This place was her home.

"I'm sorry. I just can't."

Jason sighed, but didn't protest. He left the tent, but throughout the night and for the next two days they all visited until everyone was healed. Katie was surprised by how quick they were at recovering from usually life threatening injuries. On the last day, as they were packing clothes and medicine given by the residents here to help on their journey, Percy came to say goodbye to her.

"Thanks again for all you've done, Katie. You sure you don't want to come with us. We could definitely use you."

"Sorry, but come by anytime you need healing."

As Percy left the tent, he carried a backpack with all the supplies given to them. Although it was a nice day, he couldn't help feeling a little sad. Not only did they not have a healer, but he had spent the last two days doing almost nothing but train and he still hadn't unlocked a new sword form. They had all started walking a few miles until Bianca noticed something.

"Where's Nico?"

They all turned and looked around but they didn't see Nico. Percy was sure he had left them, but he seemed to have disappeared. They looked for a few more minutes but didn't see him. Just as they were about to walk back, they saw Nico. He was running with incredible speed and carrying something on his back. It was only as he got closer that they saw what he was carrying. It was a furious looking Katie, gaged and tied. Percy saw that Nico had a crazy smile on him and a bruised cheek.

Bianca had a look that part-amazement and part-anger. "What the hell are you doing?"

Nico ran past them, not looking at all out of breathe. "Saving our lives."

* * *

**Damn that Nico. Stealing is wrong. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who viewed by posting one more chapter. I originally was going to post an extra story to this, but I put it up after seeing how dedicated everyone was and how many people viewed my story. Anyway, please review, I'd love to here suggestions. Now that I'm back at school, the updates probably won't be as fast, but I'll try to get them out there.**


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